Skillfully on the strings: Psalm 33 as a song of exile

Abstract

Scholarship in the Psalms has not clearly defined either the Sitz im Leben or date of composition for Ps 33. Opinions range from designating its use in Israel’s congregational worship during the monarchy to a date of composition as late as the third-century BCE. This article analyzes the literary, thematic, form critical, canonical, and linguistic evidence for an exilic date of composition for Ps 33. It also proposes a fresh reading of the psalm from a context of forced migration. Accepting an exilic date for Ps 33 can serve to broaden understanding of how the psalms reflect the experience of the exile. The consensus that Ps 137 represents the only clearly exilic psalm, with its vengeful tone and resignation of hanging harps on riverside willows, could thus be challenged by the trusting worship of Ps 33 that asks for the “steadfast love of the Lord” to be upon the faithful exiles.